


march - i know this love of mine will never die

by woodchoc_magnum



Series: you can tell everybody this is your song [11]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Bottom Evan "Buck" Buckley, Christopher Diaz is a National Treasure, Domestic Fluff, Established Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Evan Buckley hates fondant and that's the hill he will die on, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Sex Toys, Smut, Soft Eddie Diaz, Top Eddie Diaz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:02:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woodchoc_magnum/pseuds/woodchoc_magnum
Summary: "What if I bore you, though? And in ten years some hotshot walks into the station and you want to be with him?""Right back at you, bud.""Nah, I'm like a penguin. I mate for life."Buck's grip tightened on him. "As if there is any possible way that someone could ever take me away from you," he said in a low voice. "You're everything to me. There will never be anyone else. I don't even see other people anymore; I just see you. I'm the luckiest man in the world."
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: you can tell everybody this is your song [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1816843
Comments: 61
Kudos: 490





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just for the record - I'm not anti-Bobby. They were always going to make-up; I just like to add a little drama to my fics.
> 
> No warnings for this one but the boys get slightly kinky in Chapter 2 - enjoy a relatively drama-free chapter of everyone making up and getting along in preparation for the wedding.

It was a Friday evening when their normally quiet home was descended upon by the two whirling tornadoes of energy that were Eddie's sisters, Adriana and Sophia.

Buck collected them from the airport, and when Eddie arrived home with Christopher after a therapy session, he found the three of them at the dining room table, a thick white folder spread out between them, mostly ignored as they talked animatedly.

"He's here!" Adriana exclaimed, bypassing Eddie completely to kiss and hug Christopher. "I missed you!"

Eddie threw his hands up in the air dramatically, taken aback, laughing when Buck took pity on him and pulled him into an embrace. Sophia and Adriana fussed over Christopher, who ended up leading them down to his bedroom to show off the Lego project he and Buck were working on. Buck rubbed Eddie's shoulders and pressed a kiss to his neck, swaying back and forth.

"This is nice," Eddie murmured.

"How did Chris go with the shrink?"

"Yeah, good, I think. He was nervous when he went in, but a lot happier when he came out. We've got another session in two weeks, but Alan said that that Chris is doing a lot better." Eddie patted him on the back and leaned over to look at the wedding books spread out on the table. "What's all this?"

"You wait to hear what they've got planned for us this weekend," Buck said, raising his eyebrows. "We've got a packed schedule tomorrow."

"Okay!" Adriana's voice echoed down the hall. "Buck, is your sister bringing her baby over?"

"Yeah, she'll be here after six," he called back.

"Good. Let's get organised. Christopher, you're in charge of team morale."

"Okay," he agreed, as the three returned to the dining room. "What's morale?"

"Team spirit," Buck said to him. "You want to watch some TV while your aunts' boss us around?"

Christopher laughed. "Okay."

While Buck set Christopher up in front of the TV, Eddie gestured to the mess on the table. "Are you serious with this?"

Sophia's jaw dropped. "Am I serious? You're the one who dumped _your wedding planning_ on me, mister, so don't you even start. I know you all think that I have nothing to do because I'm a stay-at-home mother—"

"Literally no one said that," Adriana cut in dryly. "And you also offered."

"That's true, but I want some respect." Sophia looked back and forth between them, her eyes flaring. "It's bad enough that I've got Mom and Dad giving me grief about this—"

"What's their problem?" Eddie asked, concerned when Adriana and Sophia exchanged a look. "Have you two been holding out on me? What's going on?"

"Wait for me," Buck said, hurrying back over to them. "Do I need to charm them again?"

"No, not quite," Sophia replied, taking a seat at the table. She pulled her curly hair back into a messy ponytail and flipped open the first folder. "Listen – they have several concerns and I have a list."

Eddie sat down beside Buck, across from Adriana, who crossed her legs and examined her fingernails. "What kind of concerns? Concerns about Buck?"

"God no, they love Buck," Adriana remarked.

Buck grinned.

"Everyone loves Buck," Sophia murmured, flipping through the folder. "Okay – first thing – is there going to be an emphasis on the 'gay' part of this gay wedding?"

Eddie grimaced. "Um… why?"

"They're concerned about an abundance of rainbow flags and you guys making a statement." Sophia gave them a look. "I told them they were being stupid."

"We haven't decided what part we're going to play in the community yet," Buck said diplomatically, "because things are slightly different for us than for other people, but we are not planning to deck out the venue in rainbow flags at this stage."

"If they keep being homophobic, maybe that'll change," Eddie muttered.

"They're trying not to be homophobic – and you know what, I don't think they are," Sophia said, "in _general_ , but they're having a hard time adjusting to the fact that you are marrying a man. And what that means in terms of you having more kids."

They exchanged a look. "Haven't thought that far ahead yet," Buck said. "We'll figure it out."

"Well, you gotta get an egg from somewhere, dude," Adriana said. "And I'm all tapped out. Soph? You?"

"I'll give you an egg if you need one," she replied, examining her binder again. "As long as I never have to be pregnant again, you can have an egg."

"Well, that was easy," Buck said with a shrug. "Cool, thanks. We'll hit you up for that later."

Sophia flashed him a quick grin. "All right. Next thing on the list – church wedding."

"No," Eddie said flatly.

"Absolutely not," Buck added. "Don't like it, don't want it."

"Priest?"

"No priests."

"No religion at all," Eddie added. "We just want a celebrant."

Sophia nodded, scrawling something on her sheet of paper. "And what if Mom and Dad wanted to do a reading from the Bible?"

Eddie exhaled, leaning back in his seat. "No one is doing any readings. We're getting up there, the celebrant is saying their thing and then we're saying our vows and then we're married. Five minutes, done."

"So romantic, Eddie," Adriana teased him.

He shrugged, agitated. "I told you I want this to be small. Buck and I are writing our own vows – that'll be enough."

"Buck, what do you think?" Sophia asked him pointedly.

Buck said, "I wanted to elope."

Both women sighed. "Jesus Christ," Adriana muttered. "You two are annoying. How about this – someone reads something at your wedding to make it slightly longer than five minutes. Give the people a show."

They exchanged a look. "Who?" Buck murmured to him.

"Maddie. She'd be good at it. And she's the only family you have coming."

"I'll ask her when she gets here." Buck checked his watch. "Okay, fine, we'll have someone say something but it's not going to have anything to do with religion."

"Fine." Sophia had a small, satisfied smile on her face. "The other thing they wanted to know was whether Buck's family was going to be in attendance."

"Only Maddie," Buck confirmed. "Parents have not been told or invited."

"Okay, good. So no drama from the Buckley side of things."

"Just you Diaz's making trouble," Buck replied.

"Good, good!" Sophia exclaimed. "Okay. Let's talk flowers."

Buck and Eddie groaned.

~

Maddie arrived half an hour later, and Buck raced out to help her with the baby. Adriana went out to greet her as well, and Eddie was pouring them some drinks in the kitchen when Sophia sidled up to him. "Hey, listen," she said in a low voice. "Mom and Dad are okay with everything, and they do like Buck, but… they're not… super happy. You know?"

"Yeah, I know. I figured as much."

"And they don't want to pay for any of it."

He made a face at her. "I was never going to ask them for money."

"That's what I told them. We're doing this pretty cheaply though, if you think about it. And you guys don't have to worry about forking out a fortune on a wedding dress."

He passed her a vodka and orange. "Here you go. I bought some vodka especially, but we're not getting wasted in front of Christopher."

"We should've organised Abuela to babysit," Sophia murmured.

"She's already looking after him tomorrow, and it's harder for her at night." Eddie carried the drinks out to the dining room table. Buck, Adriana and Maddie had made it inside the house, and Buck was seated with Christopher on the couch, the baby in his arms.

Adriana and Maddie were holding onto each other like they never wanted to let go. Sophia said petulantly, "Can I please meet the famous Maddie that everyone gushes about?"

Adriana laughed, dragging Maddie over to introduce her. "This is my baby sister, Sophia," she said.

"You made the beautiful mural for my nursery," Maddie said gratefully. "Buck picked it out – it's so lovely. Thank you so much."

Instantly charmed, Sophia hugged Maddie tightly. "You're so nice! I was so happy when Buck asked me to pick one out for you."

Eddie left the women exclaiming over each other and joined his boys on the couch. Buck passed him the baby and he sat back against the cushions, cradling her in his arms. "What a cutie."

"Was I cute when I was a baby, Dad?"

"Oh yeah," Eddie replied, glancing at him with a grin. "You were the happiest baby, kiddo. Always smiling."

"Just like you do now," Buck said, ruffling his hair.

"Are you going to have a baby with Buck?" Christopher asked, and then wrinkled his nose. "How?"

"I'll explain that when it happens," Eddie replied, stroking baby Charlotte's cheek with his finger.

Buck rested his chin on his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "You sure you want to do this again?"

"With you? Definitely. You know that." Eddie gave him a kiss on the cheek. "My sweetheart."

"Ugh, gross," Sophia remarked. "Let me hold the baby, Eddie. I demand it."

"Do they always boss you around?" Maddie asked him, as Sophia gently took the baby out of his arms and carried her over to Adriana.

Eddie nodded emphatically. "Yes, always. They have a bad habit of ganging up on me."

"That's not true," Adriana replied. "Like, at all. If anything, you and I ganged up on Soph."

"She used to cry all the time and get us in trouble," Eddie replied, rising to his feet. "All right, are we working out the schedule for tomorrow?"

"Let us catch up first," Adriana admonished him. "You three play video games or something."

Buck shook his head. "They come into our house, drink our alcohol, eat our chips—"

"And plan your wedding, so you can both be quiet," Sophia shot back.

Eddie and Buck raised their eyebrows at each other. "All right, I guess we're playing video games until they're ready for us," Eddie said. "Chris, you want to play Mario Kart?"

"Yeah!"

~~

Mario Kart was played, pizzas were ordered and devoured, the baby was put down for a sleep in Buck and Eddie's room and Christopher crashed out on his bed after dinner, wiped out from all the attention. They sat around the table again, the wedding plans spread out between them, and Sophia placed both hands on her folder and regarded them seriously.

"So, here's what we're doing tomorrow," she began. "We are going to the venue the first thing in the morning to make sure it's exactly what you want – and honestly, what you wanted was not super easy for me to find – and to pay an additional deposit to lock in the date. From there we are booked in at two different bakeries to sample cakes, and then you two need to decide what kind of cake you want and which bakery you want to go with. I'm sick of getting the 'we're fine with whatever' response from you. It's time to make some hard decisions, okay?"

"Okay," Eddie replied, and gave her a mock salute.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "And you will be in a good mood, Edmundo, and there will be no complaints about this. This is your wedding I'm planning and it's not easy."

"We have less than fifty guests."

"I still want everything to be perfect for you!" she snapped, and when Adriana patted her on the shoulder sympathetically, she relaxed. "Sorry. Just because… of everything, and because it's Buck, and you guys deserve a really nice, romantic day. I swear to god I'm good at planning things."

"That's why we put you in charge," Buck said diplomatically. "After the cake, then what?"

"Then we're having lunch," Adriana said dryly.

"Right. We're having lunch at a restaurant that Adriana has picked out, and then we have a fitting at a tailor at 3pm for your suits. And your best man, Buck… he's not coming to this?"

"They're still not really talking," Eddie said, glancing at Buck uncertainly.

Buck shrugged. "If I have to, I'll stand up there alone. Chris can stand between us or something."

"You haven't replaced Bobby, have you?" Maddie asked quietly.

"Not yet, but we're not on good terms right now. I haven't really had a conversation with him in weeks. We're avoiding each other."

"You might need to sort that out, you know," Maddie suggested. "Chim and Hen are getting very antsy about it."

"Antsy how?" Eddie asked.

"They're worried you two might want to leave the 118 if you can't get along with Bobby."

Buck and Eddie exchanged a look. Neither of them had said anything to Chimney or Hen about leaving the 118, but Eddie had received a phone call from Captain Robinson at the 136 asking if he and Buck were interested in having a meeting with him to discuss their futures. He'd _only_ told Buck about that, and they were due to meet with him on Monday morning before their shift started.

Buck said, "We haven't made any decisions."

"Yet," she finished for him.

He shrugged. "Don't know."

Maddie gave him an imploring look. "Please don't leave the 118, Buck. I really think you guys will regret it. Hen and Chim will be so upset."

They glanced at each other again. Eddie said, "We seriously haven't made any decisions about anything yet. Bobby and Buck are going to sort things out."

"You guys didn't go to San Francisco because… you want to leave LA, did you?" Maddie asked suspiciously. "That's what Chim and Hen were speculating."

"We're not leaving LA," Buck said firmly. "We went for a mini-holiday. You think I want to leave you just after you had a baby? You think I'm going to let Albert steal all the favourite uncle points? Over my dead body."

Maddie grinned at him. "Okay," she replied. "I'll reassure them, again, as I have been continually reassuring them for weeks."

"As for Bobby and the fitting, we don't know, but it doesn't really matter – we know he has nice suits, so he doesn't really need to come to the fitting," Eddie said. "Honestly, we can just get some suits off the rack."

"Absolutely not," Adriana admonished, as Sophia gasped and said, "Don't you even _think_ about it," and Maddie added, "You'll do as you're told, and you'll go to the fitting."

"Jeez," Eddie grumbled. "Okay."

The women exchanged a satisfied look. "Between the three of us, we're going to get these two married," Adriana declared. "Everyone is going to be happy, and there aren't going to be any dramatics from either side of the family."

Maddie winced. "Oh, I don't know, Mom and Dad are miffed that they haven't been invited."

"Why would they be?" Buck asked, wrinkling his nose. "After they tried to pay me to dump Eddie?" He slid an arm around Eddie's shoulders and pulled him close. "As if. There's not enough money in the world."

"Aw," Eddie murmured.

"Gross," Sophia remarked, examining her list again. "All right. You have forty-five guests – the venue can accommodate fifty, so if you think of anyone else, there's room left over."

"Nah, we're good," Eddie said. "We're happy with the list."

"Now we need to work on the seating arrangements," Sophia murmured, flipping to another page in her folder. "All right. Let's plan this thing!"

As the women leaned over the folder, Buck whispered in Eddie's ear, "She is way too excited about this."

~

It was late when everyone left, after 11, and Buck flopped into bed and pulled the covers up, opening his book. Eddie sat on the edge of the bed, undoing his watch, and then moved so he was lying beside Buck, his head on his shoulder, running his fingertips over the bar in his nipple. Buck hooked an arm around his shoulders and rested his head atop Eddie's. "Want me to read to you?"

"Mmm, it's okay. I don't want to hear about the moon landing."

"It's really interesting."

"I'm sure it is." Eddie snuggled up against him, closing his eyes. "Big day tomorrow."

"Even bigger day in a few months."

"Nervous?"

He shook his head. "Not even a little bit."

"Me either. Can't wait to see you all dressed up; looking so handsome." He could feel Eddie's smile against his skin. "I can't believe it sometimes. You know?"

"How lucky you are to be marrying me?"

Eddie gave him a light pat on the stomach, and said, "No, that… you want to marry me."

Sensing that Eddie needed a little reassurance, Buck set his book down and wrapped him up in a hug. "Are you fucking kidding me, Diaz?"

Eddie snorted with laughter. "Yes?"

"Come on, you know I love you more than anything," he said, casting a hand up and down his back. "I got my nipple pierced for you."

"I know, and I love it." To prove his point, Eddie pressed the softest of kisses to it.

"And Chim asked me about it, you know."

"What'd you tell him?"

"That you're super kinky—"

"No," Eddie objected, lifting his head. "No, you didn't."

Buck grinned. "No, but I wanted to. I kind of looked at him like he was stupid and said, 'What are you talking about? It's always been pierced,' and he was _totally_ confused. Ha."

"Sneaky. Hen won't fall for that."

"Nah, she's too smart for us." Buck scratched between Eddie's shoulders lightly, and Eddie practically purred against his throat, leaning into his touch. "Itchy back?"

"Mmm."

"You're all cuddly tonight."

"Mmm."

Buck pulled away slightly, putting his book on the nightstand and flicking the lamp off. He pulled the blanket up around them and hugged Eddie close, closing his eyes. Sometimes he thought to himself how amazed their friends would be if they could see Eddie the way he saw him, with all of his walls and defences down – just _himself_ , who loved to touch and cuddle and lavished Buck with pet names and kisses when no one was looking. They'd never believe it.

He was chuckling, and Eddie murmured, "What's funny?"

"Oh, nothing, just thinking about how you're a big cuddle bug."

"Stop it."

"Mr tough MMA fighter over here…"

"I get really tired of having to be strong all the time," Eddie admitted. "Sometimes I just want to curl up in your arms and sleep."

"Fine by me." Buck kissed his forehead. "You sleep."

Eddie nestled against him, letting out a sigh. "I love you, baby."

"Kinda feels like you're the baby right now."

"Shut up."

~

Their wedding venue was an open-air brick restaurant in Santa Monica, with greenery on the walls and twinkling fairy lights. They'd vetoed almost every venue she'd shown them except this one, for the simple fact that there was a large open space for dancing, and it didn't cost a fortune to book.

The best part was that they could book food trucks to provide a variety of dinner options, and Sophia already had a couple of tentative bookings in place. No stuffy, old-fashioned beef or chicken alternate drop for their wedding – their guests could choose from Mexican, Jamaican jerk chicken, homestyle American or shawarma.

Their next stop was a bakery nearby, where they were ushered into a small room and presented with four different pieces of cake. The baker was a young woman with a shock of pink hair, and she excitedly talked them through their options for the design.

Buck said, "I know it's traditional to have a big, tiered cake and all but…"

"We're not traditional," Eddie finished for him. "So we're thinking just one layer."

Sophia balked, shaking her head. "No, you'll have two. You need to save the top tier in your freezer and eat it on your one-year anniversary guys, come on."

"I'm not keeping cake in the freezer for a year," Buck objected. "Did you do that?"

"Yes," all three women said at the same time.

Maddie added, "But I don't think it's good luck, so you two do what you want."

Eddie pulled Buck to the side and said in his ear, "I don't want a gaudy tiered cake; I had one at my first wedding and I don't want it."

"He doesn't want tiers," Buck announced. "We're not having tiers."

"Oh, for god's sakes," Sophia huffed, flipping open her folder. "Okay. Maybe two cakes then? One for each of you?"

They exchanged a look. "Seems like tiers but just flat though," Buck pointed out. "We just want one cake, and no goddamn fondant."

"Or a wedding topper," Eddie said. "No wedding toppers."

Maddie threw her hands up. "Are you two for real? You can get cute little grooms—"

"No," Buck said, and then grinned. "God, this is fun."

"I'm about to make you plan your own damn wedding," Sophia grumbled. "Okay. Steering away from tiers, then – how about something cylindrical, with three distinct layers – maybe a nude cake?"

Eddie glanced at Buck, who said, "No nude cakes."

"Oh, what!" Sophia exploded. "What's wrong with that?"

"He doesn't want it. I like the idea of the layers though," he said, folding his arms across his chest, "and maybe instead of a topper we could just decorate with flowers."

"Rainbow flowers," Eddie said significantly, and Adriana and Sophia groaned in unison.

"They're going to accuse you two of having an agenda," Adriana warned.

"It's a gay wedding! We're gay," Buck replied. "Let's have some fucking rainbows, who cares? They're just rainbows!"

The poor baker was looking back and forth between them uncertainly. "Um, I might have some ideas, building on what you've suggested? No fondant, a three-layer cylindrical cake – maybe with buttercream and flowers – I could even make edible flowers cascading down the side?"

Buck and Eddie exchanged a look while the women held their collective breath. "That sounds nice," Eddie said after a moment.

"And instead of the traditional wedding topper, you could just have your names?" she suggested hesitantly. "I can draw up a design that you may like."

"We'd like to see that," Sophia said, shooting them a pointed look. "Now, we're thinking white—"

"White is the colour of virginity and we are not virgins," Eddie said flatly. "No white."

"Edmundo!" Sophia snapped, slamming her folder shut. "It is a _wedding cake_ , not a wedding dress! Stop being so obtuse!"

"You're doing this on purpose," Adriana pointed out, "just to be difficult."

"It's our wedding, we want it to be perfect," Buck retorted, sliding his arm around Eddie's shoulders reassuringly. "Look, we already know we want chocolate cake, right?"

"Chocolate," Sophia groaned. "Fruit cake is traditional—"

"Yeah, and have you ever seen me eat a fruit cake?" Eddie asked.

"I know you are a fruit cake," she muttered.

Eddie grinned, shaking his head at her. "I _know_ you're going to take that back."

"Fine, I take it back. Okay. Chocolate," she said, heaving a sigh, turning to the baker. "Any thoughts?"

The baker held up her hand. "I might have a suggestion. Just give me a second." She hurried into the back room, and they were left glaring at each other.

"You're making this very difficult," Adriana said. "Got to be different."

Buck wrapped his arms around Eddie from behind and rested his head on his shoulder. "Look, we're two extremely masculine men," he began, and the women groaned again. "We don't want a traditional wedding cake. We do want rainbow flowers though, to give them the ol' razzle dazzle."

"You gotta have some razzle dazzle," Eddie agreed.

"We've got another baker to go to after this," Sophia hissed at them. "You will be cool."

"Well, now you know what we want, so we'll be super cool." Buck smiled at her, and kissed Eddie's cheek.

Maddie murmured to Sophia and Adriana, "You're not around them all the time. I could've told you it would be like this."

"A little heads up next time. I had no idea they were such divas," Adriana murmured back.

"Divas," Eddie said to Buck, who snickered. "We should just elope."

"After all the work I've done?!" Sophia practically exploded.

"Oops, said that too loud."

The baker returned, holding a folder of her own. "Um, so last year I did a birthday party, but the cake is kind of what you're talking about," she said, holding it out so Buck and Eddie could see. It was a three-layer chocolate cake, with chocolate icing that was such a dark shade of brown it was almost black, punctuated with bright purple flowers.

Buck grinned. "That looks perfect."

**~*~*~*~**

**Hen, Chimney & Bobby**

When Bobby opened his front door and found Hen and Chimney on the stoop, his heart sank. "What's happened?"

"What makes you think something has happened?" Chimney asked.

"Because it's Saturday morning and you two don't usually surprise me at my house uninvited," he replied dryly, holding the door open for them. "Come in."

"Smells good in here," Hen commented, following him down the stairs to the living room. "What are you guys making?"

"Just some pizzas for lunch," Bobby replied, gesturing for them to take a seat on the lounge. "What's going on, guys?"

Hen glanced at Chimney, who said, "We're here to talk about the boys. Specifically, Buck."

Bobby sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "And this couldn't wait until work on Monday?"

"No. Maddie came home last night and told me that the boys are thinking about potentially moving stations," he replied, as Bobby looked up sharply. "I called Hen this morning, and she'd heard from a friend at the 136 that Captain Robinson had mentioned bringing them both over to work with him, and that they have a meeting with him on Monday before their shift starts."

Bobby sat back in his seat, folding his arms across his chest. "Okay."

"We don't want them to leave," Hen said firmly. "You need to fix this with Buck."

"Maybe Buck needs to fix it with me—"

"Cap, come on," Chimney cut in. "The brownie thing was an accident that could've happened to any of us, even you."

"I don't think it's ever been about the brownie," Hen said knowingly. "It's about the bus fire."

Bobby gritted his teeth. "I don't know what I have to do to make it clear to him that he doesn't have to throw his life away; that he doesn't have to be so reckless."

"He thought Eddie was inside," she said gently. "We talked about this."

"And if something does happen to Eddie on the job, what then? I don't want Buck to die," he said, and then closed his mouth tightly, looking away from them.

Hen and Chimney exchanged a glance. "Bobby, you know he loves you like a father," Hen said gently. "And he's really hurt right now. He's only ever wanted your approval. Hell, he asked you to be his best man over Chim, and… you guys are barely talking now. It's not right."

"I have offered to step in," Chimney said, trying to lighten the mood.

"You may as well. I don't think he wants me anymore. They barely speak about the wedding when I'm around." Bobby looked morose. "I didn't mean to let it go this far, but he's been avoiding me for weeks."

"He's trying to work hard to make up for every little mistake he's ever made," Hen replied. "But the man he is today is light years from the boy he was when he first started with us, and you know that. He's getting married to the love of his life in a few months, and he'll regret it if you're not standing up there with him as his best man. Bobby, you've got to fix this. You and Buck need to talk things out."

"We've all made mistakes," Chimney added. "All of us, you included. Buck's no different."

"You know they're right," Athena called from the kitchen. "You've been unhappy about this for months. Let's invite Buck and Eddie over for dinner tomorrow night to sort everything out."

"What if it's too late?" he asked helplessly.

Hen shook her head. "It's _Buck_ ," she said emphatically. "He doesn't stay mad at anyone for long."

"And Eddie's only trying to protect him; you know how he is," Chimney added. "I'm not allowed to tease Buck anymore without Eddie jumping down my throat."

"He always did that anyway," Hen murmured. "Eddie does not like it when anything bad is said about Buck. God, those two are so annoyingly in love. How the hell didn't we see it?"

"I saw it," Athena remarked, joining them in the living room, perching on the arm rest of Bobby's chair. "You all were blind. I knew straight away that things had changed."

"Well, you're a cop," Chimney said, rolling his eyes. "Obviously, you'd pick up on it."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "It is my job."

"That's what I mean!"

**~*~*~*~**

Eddie was not enthused about the second baker as soon as they walked in the door. An older lady greeted them, immediately asked who the bride and groom were, and looked disappointed when Buck said, "Actually, Eddie and I are the ones getting married."

"Oh," she replied, forcing a smile. "Okay. Let's talk wedding cake."

Sophia murmured in his ear as they sat at a table, "She should know that? I was clear on the phone."

Sensing that this was going to be _interesting_ , he just shrugged at her. "Maybe she's mixed up."

"I'm Janet," she said, bustling back into the room with a tray of cake slices. "And these are some of our samples for you to try so you can pick your flavour."

"They already know they want chocolate," Maddie said with a bright smile.

Janet put her hand on her hip. "Well, you should still try them all. Chocolate for a wedding cake? Not very traditional. Personally, I think either a vanilla cake or a fruitcake is the way to go. Now, we can do a lot of wonders with fondant."

Buck stiffened beside him.

"The boys aren't super interested in fondant," Sophia said delicately. "We're thinking less of a traditional wedding cake, because it's not really a traditional wedding."

"Nothing wrong with tradition," Janet said, forcing cheerfulness. "That's what weddings are all about. Certainly, it's a shame that two handsome boys such as yourselves are choosing to be together instead of making two lucky women very happy."

Everyone fell silent. Buck was clenched up beside him. Eddie finally said, "We make each other very happy, ma'am."

"Still. Such a waste! You won't be able to have children, you know," she said, clucking her tongue. "Not unless you want to adopt. And in this day and age, with so many troubled kids out there? You'll never know what you'll end up with. Two men, raising a child? Doesn't seem right to me."

"Okay, we're done," Maddie said, pushing her seat out, flashing a tense smile at Janet. "We're not interested in this. Thank you for your time; we're going in a different direction."

"Did I say something wrong?" she asked, her hand to her mouth, feigning innocence.

"You said a lot wrong," Adriana retorted. "First of all, Eddie and Buck are _already_ parents and they're great at it. Second of all, they can totally have more kids and they will because they're awesome fathers. Third of all, two men marrying each other because they're in love is not a _waste._ "

"And these two love each other so much," Sophia added, on the verge of tears. "How dare you say that to them. Come on, we're leaving. This is unbelievable."

Eddie held the door open for the women to exit, and as Buck was leaving he said haughtily, "And fondant is the worst – everyone knows it and they just pretend to like it even though it's the worst and it ruins cakes. Good day."

"Well, good luck to you," Janet said to him tightly. "Hope it works out."

Eddie shrugged at her. "We don't really give a fuck what you think," he said, and let the door slam shut. Buck immediately wrapped him in a hug, and Eddie tried to reassure him by rubbing his back.

" _Unbelievable_ ," Sophia snapped, striding down the footpath to Buck's jeep. "I spoke to her on the phone! She was lovely! I'm so sorry, you guys."

"Guess it's the first baker then," Maddie said ruefully.

"Yeah, it was always gonna be," Eddie replied, extracting himself from Buck's arms and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "Come on, baby. Let's get some lunch. It's okay."

"I just can't believe this," Sophia was saying, standing near the car in a huff. "She was _lovely_ on the phone. I told her your names and everything! She should've known it was two dudes."

"What names did you use?" Maddie asked her. "Evan can be a girl's name."

"Evan is a very masculine boy's name," Buck protested.

"Evan Rachel Wood," Adriana said meaningfully.

He screwed his face up in confusion. "Who the hell is that?"

"Were you raised under a rock or something?" Adriana teased him. "She's an actress! She was in _True Blood_ , _Westworld_ – any of these things ring a bell to you?"

" _True Blood_ is the hot vampire show," Buck said thoughtfully. "I remember watching some of that." He unlocked the car and climbed into the front seat, Maddie slipping into the passenger seat beside him.

Eddie climbed into the back with his sisters, ignoring Adriana pointedly jamming her elbow into his ribs. Buck blasted the air-conditioning and pulled away from the curb, heading for their next location – a fancy restaurant that Adriana had picked for lunch.

"So Buck," Sophia said, leaning forward, her folder in her lap. "Let's talk music. Eddie says that you're in charge."

"Yup." Buck flashed her a grin in the rear-view mirror.

"And so we're hiring a DJ?"

"We can do that, but I will need to sit down with them and curate the music."

Sophia exchanged a look with Adriana and said, "I had no idea you were such a music snob."

Buck grinned and said, "I have a very specific idea in mind of the kind of music that I want at my wedding. Eds?"

"Just let him do what he wants to do," Eddie said to his sisters.

"But what if we want to request some music?" Sophia asked Buck, who shook his head.

"No requests."

"You snob."

"I'm not a snob, I just know what I want. This is the hill I'll die on, Soph, so don't even go there with me."

They were laughing as Eddie's phone rang. He was surprised when Athena's name flashed on the screen, and then stuck his finger in his other ear to drown them out as he answered it. "Hi Athena."

"Hi, Eddie. Just wondering if you and Buckaroo are free for dinner with us tomorrow night? Bobby and Buck need to sort their issues out, away from the station."

"Sure," he replied, surprised. "Yeah, sounds good. What time?"

"How does seven sound? I'll make my famous brisket."

"Well we're definitely in. Do you want us to bring anything?"

"Just yourselves, and Christopher. Harry can keep him company while we chat."

"Sure, sounds great. We'll see you then." They said goodbye, and Eddie ended the call, meeting Buck's eyes in the mirror. "Uh, Bobby and Athena want us over for dinner tomorrow night."

"Great," Buck said unenthusiastically. "What have I done wrong now?"

"Nothing," Maddie admonished him. "He'll be wanting to figure things out with you."

"You didn't say anything to Chim about us potentially leaving the 118, did you?" he asked her suspiciously. "Because that was confidential."

"Um, I didn't… not say anything to him about it."

" _Maddie._ We didn't want them to know!"

"You shouldn't leave the 118 just because you're all bent out of shape about Bobby! The 118 is your family and you two know it."

"In all likelihood we're not going to leave," Eddie pointed out, "which is why we didn't want you to say anything. Buck and Bobby can resolve their issues."

"Then why haven't you?" Maddie asked Buck pointedly.

"Me? I'm the one constantly under attack!" Buck hit his hands against the steering wheel in frustration. "Look, I know I'm stupid and I make mistakes—"

"You're not stupid," Eddie cut in. "At all. Everyone makes mistakes. The problem is that there's a difference in the way Bobby treats Buck to how he treats the rest of us. That's what we need to figure out, Maddie – and if they can't work together, then he and I might have to go somewhere else. But we're not leaving LA, and we don't have any imminent plans to leave the 118. Buck's been feeling down, and we don't want that anymore, all right?"

Maddie gave Buck a sidelong glance. "You didn't tell me you've been feeling down."

"You just had a baby. Like I'm going to burden you with my problems. I have Eddie and Chris – other than work, everything is great."

Maddie was focused on Buck, chewing on her lower lip. "What's been happening at work then, other than the brownie thing?"

He heaved a sigh. "It really doesn't matter. It's just uncomfortable. We used to be able to joke around but now I feel like I'm walking on eggshells all the time. Like, I can't relax and play video games or pool when he's around; I feel like I've always got to be working, to prove myself. To prove I'm not a fuck-up."

"Anyone can see you're not a fuck-up, Buck," Sophia said loyally.

Buck flashed a smile in the mirror. "I feel like it, though."

"Are you fucking kidding?" Adriana demanded. "Eddie's told us all about your heroics. He's constantly texting about the hero shit you two do all day. Like, just last week you rescued a kid off a hiking trail and had to fucking abseil down a mountain to do it – that's hero shit, Buck. You're not a fuck-up. You're both _awesome._ Do I need to have a chat with this captain of yours to sort this shit out?"

"God, no," Eddie groaned, rubbing his eyes. "We can handle it."

"Doesn't seem like you're handling it very well. I would've had this sorted months ago – oh, the restaurant is up here, Buck. To the left. Buck!"

"I know! Jesus Christ, Adriana!"

~

After a successful fitting for their suits, Buck and Eddie dropped Adriana and Sophia at their hotel with the plan to meet for breakfast the following morning before taking them to the airport. Maddie hugged them both, all three women tearful, and Buck murmured to Eddie, "It's that Buckley charm, you know. You Diaz's are powerless to resist."

"Shut up," Eddie retorted, still in the backseat, leaning forward with his hands draped over the seat, resting on Buck's chest. "Tired?"

"Mmm, looking forward to chilling out with a movie tonight. Tacos for dinner sound good?"

"As long as you feel like cooking."

"I don't feel like pizza again, that's for sure."

The women parted, and Maddie slipped back into the front seat, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Sorry," she apologised tearfully, fumbling in her purse for a tissue. "I just really like your sisters and I wish they lived in LA."

"So do I," Eddie replied, leaning back in his seat. "We got a lot figured out today though. Good to have the ball rolling."

"And your parents seem to be warming up to everything," Maddie said to him, wiping her eyes. "That's got to be a relief."

"I'm just not sure I trust it," he admitted. "They're saying all the right things, but… I don't trust them."

"I understand that. You know, when Mom and Dad came to see the baby, I didn't feel right about leaving her alone with them, like, at all," she said to Buck, who glanced at her quickly. "And they didn't seem particularly interested in her either. Dad made a comment about her eyes."

"What'd he say?" Eddie asked.

Maddie frowned deeply. "That it was a shame she was so Asian-looking. He didn't say it in front of Chim and I haven't told him."

"God, he's such an asshole," Buck groaned. "What did you say to him?"

"I didn't know what to do, Buck. I'd only been home for a couple of days; I was still in pain and all emotional and everything… wiped out, you know? I just cried about it later."

"Don't let them get away with it again," he said to her. "You know what they're like. If they're going to be racist dicks about _your kid_ , Maddie, you'll have to lay down the law. You don't want Charlotte to grow up thinking that there's something wrong with her for being mixed race. It's not right."

Maddie nodded, and began to weep again. "I should've said something."

"Oh god, I didn't mean to make you cry!" Buck exclaimed, panicking, reaching out to grasp her knee.

"It's not your fault," Eddie added from the backseat. "You'd just gotten home from the hospital. It's not like she's going to remember it."

"You're right," she sniffled. "I just hate that they're like this."

"Next time they come to town, I won't hide," Buck offered. "I'll make sure I'm there. I don't give a shit anymore. After what they've done to me, the least I can do is to protect you and Chim from it. I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"Is that okay?" she asked in a small voice. "I know it's not easy for you."

"If anything, we're good at deflecting them from you," Eddie commented.

"Can you imagine what they've said to their friends?" Buck asked her, and she actually laughed. "I'm marrying a Mexican _man_ and you had a baby with a South Korean, and we both live in Los Angeles. They'd be horrified."

"And I killed my husband," she added.

"That pretty much tops everything," Eddie said, and when she glanced at him with a smile, he flashed her an easy grin. "Hey, if you can go through everything you've been through and come out the other side as strong as you are, you can deal with your racist parents. You've always got Buck and me in your corner."

"And you can deal with Bobby," she said to Buck, who sighed. "You're going to sort things out, aren't you?"

"Yes, boss," he said dutifully.

~~

They swung in to pick up Christopher from Abuela's house – Buck was dragged into the kitchen with Isabel, who handed him two containers of baked treats and some handwritten recipes, and she was about to pour him a glass of iced tea when Eddie appeared in the doorway, shaking his head at her in mock exasperation. "We have to go," he said apologetically, kissing her on the cheek. "You'll come over for dinner during the week."

"I'll cook," Buck said absently, reading through the recipes. "I'll make one of these."

"You're such a good boy," Isabel said to him affectionately, bypassing Eddie, who rolled his eyes. She pinched Buck's cheek and smiled up at him, so he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

"I can't believe I've been replaced as favourite grandson," he grumbled, and she admonished him with a look.

"Come on Eds, everyone knows Christopher is the favourite," Buck teased, and danced away from Eddie before he could take a swipe at him.

They said goodbye to Isabel and headed home. Buck had an idea for dinner, and he sent Eddie off to organise Christopher while he bustled around in the kitchen. When Christopher emerged after his shower, and the bathroom door closed again so Eddie could have his, Buck said to Christopher confidentially, "Hey buddy, you want to watch a movie under the stars tonight?"

"Yes!" Christopher exclaimed.

"Okay. I'm going to get everything set up in the backyard – you distract your dad when he comes out of the bathroom, all right?"

"What do you want me to do?"

Buck bent over so he was eye level and said seriously, "Whatever you want, bud. Go nuts. Just keep him on his toes for half an hour."

Christopher giggled. "On it."

Almost as soon as the bathroom door opened, Christopher called, "Da-aaaaaaad," from his bedroom, and Eddie hurried to his side.

"What's going on, buddy?" Buck heard him say, and he whipped into action.

He grabbed the air mattress from the hall cupboard and took it out to the backyard, quickly running the pump to inflate it. A quick dash back inside to grab pillows and blankets, and then back out to the yard, where he set everything up near the shady tree in the back corner. He retrieved the camping lanterns from the back shed and lit them up, and then overturned a milk crate to act as a table for the laptop.

He was back inside, passing by Christopher's room, as an increasingly baffled Eddie was saying, "Buddy, why… why do you want to know what's inside a golf ball?"

"I just want to know!"

Buck snickered to himself in the kitchen, quickly preparing everything they'd need to make tacos. He even loaded a tray of nachos into the oven and cooked them up as well, and then while he was arranging everything on a tray, a visibly exhausted Eddie appeared, Christopher trailing behind.

"Are we going somewhere?" Eddie asked, bewildered.

"Yeah, to the backyard," Buck said, flashing him a smile. "Take some drinks and the laptop out, would you?"

"Where in the backyard?"

"You'll see. Go on. You and Chris go get settled and I'll be out in a minute."

Eddie narrowed his eyes slightly but shrugged. "Okay."

Buck finished organising the food, threw a packet of napkins on top of the tray and carried it out to the backyard. Eddie was on his knees on the air mattress, Christopher beside him, beaming proudly. "I distracted him, Buck!"

"Yeah, you did an awesome job," Buck replied, lowering the tray onto the mattress, and settling down with them. "Dinner and a movie under the stars."

Eddie gazed at him with unabashed adoration. "You planned this."

"Yep. I had help." Buck smiled at Christopher. "Dig in, before the food gets cold. And I get to pick the movie."

"I don't remember agreeing to that."

"And it's in black and white," Buck added, as they both groaned. "You'll like it! So stop complaining and eat."

~

After dinner, and as the moon rose over the backyard, Buck queued up his movie and settled back against the pillows, with Eddie on one side and Christopher on the other, both tucked in against him. He wasn't sure they'd like the movie – it was The Beatles' _A Hard Day's Night_ – but Eddie looked slightly mollified when he realised that it was a Beatles movie and not just some random ancient black and white thing that Buck had picked out. Sure enough, both Diaz boys were laughing almost right from the start, and Buck settled back with a grin.

They were a third of the way into the movie when one of his favourite songs began, and he couldn’t help but tap Eddie on the shoulder, to let him know to pay attention. Eddie shifted, tilting his head up to meet Buck's eyes, a soft smile on his face.

_I give her all my love  
That's all I do  
And if you saw my love  
You'd love her, too  
I love her_

_She gives me everything  
And tenderly  
The kiss my lover brings  
She brings to me  
And I love her_

Buck stroked a finger down Eddie's cheek, gazing down at him silently, hoping his eyes conveyed everything that he was feeling. Eddie shifted again, moving so their foreheads were pressed together.

_A love like ours  
Could never die  
As long as I  
Have you near me_

_Bright are the stars that shine  
Dark is the sky  
I know this love of mine  
Will never die  
And I love her_

"Love you," Buck breathed, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Love you too," Eddie whispered back, brushing a kiss to his lips.

"This part's boring," Christopher declared from beside them, and they broke apart with a laugh.

~~

The next day brought a morning mall adventure with Adriana and Sophia, who spoiled Christopher with new toys, ignoring Eddie's repeated pleas for them to stop. He was actually relieved to drop them at the airport, giving them each a hug and kiss and thanking them for their help.

"We want an invite to the bachelor party," Sophia said meaningfully, pushing her sunglasses up on top of her head. "Buck! I want that invite."

"We're not having one," Buck called from the driver's seat. "What that hell would that even involve?"

"Strippers," Adriana said to Eddie meaningfully, and he rolled his eyes and shooed her away.

"Go, get on your plane before it leaves you here and we're stuck with you again."

"Oh, nice!" Sophia shouted at him, and then waved. "Text ya, bro! Bye Buck! Bye Christopher!"

"Hurry up," Adriana snapped, her heels clicking on the concrete as she dragged her bag to the entryway. "I need a wine before we get on the plane."

He let out a sigh of relief as he jumped into the passenger seat beside Buck. "Quick, let's get out of here."

"You'll miss them in no time," Buck replied, flicking on the radio. "All right, let's get ready for dinner at the Grant-Nash residence."

"Don't you love how Athena's name is still first?"

"Well, it's her house. Bobby just lives there."


	2. Chapter 2

"Come in," Athena said, hustling them into the house. "How are you two? You'll have to tell us all about the wedding plans."

"It's been non-stop all weekend," Eddie said, shrugging out of his jacket and hanging it on the rack. He took Christopher's off as well and added it to the pile, swinging him up in his arms as they went down the stairs. "Hey, Harry, how are you, man?"

"Good! You want to play with my Switch, Christopher?" Harry asked, and Christopher nodded eagerly, practically struggling to free himself from Eddie's embrace.

"Okay, okay," Eddie said with a laugh, setting him on the floor. "You guys go have fun."

They watched as Christopher followed Harry to his bedroom. "He seems a lot happier than the last time we saw him," Athena commented. "How's his arm?"

"He'll have the cast another couple of weeks, but the doctor says it's healing well," Eddie replied, as Buck stepped up beside him.

"That's a relief," she replied. "I'm glad it's all been sorted. Kids are strong – god knows I went through it when I was at school; I think everyone does."

"That's the truth," Buck replied, as Bobby stepped out from the kitchen. "Hey, Cap."

"Hey guys," Bobby said, visibly nervous. "Come on in. Can I get you something to drink?"

"I'm driving – I'll take a water or juice if that's okay," Buck said to him.

"Sure. Eddie? Beer?"

"Sounds good."

Bobby disappeared into the kitchen, and Athena said to them in a low voice, "He's nervous, guys."

Buck sighed, glancing at Eddie. "I don't want this to be awkward anymore," he said unhappily, and followed Bobby into the kitchen.

~~

"Hey Bobby," Buck said, shoving his hands deep into his pockets, standing awkwardly in the entry to the kitchen. "I was thinking maybe… we could chat now."

Bobby gave him an apprehensive look, pouring drinks at the counter. "Okay."

They eyed each other. Buck shifted his weight nervously, and said, "You start."

Bobby let out a chuckle and nodded. "I don't know how to," he said quietly. "I think we might've let things get too far. I would understand if you didn't want me to be your best man anymore."

"That's not what I want, at all," Buck replied. "I know Chim has been trying to sway me over to his side, but I still want you standing up there with me, Bobby… you know how important you are to me. I was lost before I joined the 118 and you gave me a family."

"You found yourself a family," Bobby replied. "And now you're building a life and future for yourself. Do you have any idea how proud I am of you?"

He ducked his head, embarrassed. "No? I don't know."

"Well, I am." Bobby leaned on the kitchen counter, giving him a long look. "I had both Hen and Chim come here yesterday to beg me not to let you and Eddie go. I know you've got a meeting tomorrow morning with Captain Robinson. He phoned me to speak to me about potentially having you and Eddie transfer to him, and I didn't know what to say. I still don't know what to say." He paused, and then murmured, "I've made working at the 118 miserable for you, haven't I?"

Buck said diplomatically, "Well, a lot has been going on."

Bobby studied him, and then said, "Just be honest with me, Buck. Does this go right back to before the lawsuit, or earlier? Are you still angry at me for not having your back?"

He wanted to lie and say no, but instead he said, "Yeah, I am."

"And you think you need to prove yourself to me?"

"You don't trust me."

"I never said I didn't trust you."

"You never explicitly said it, but you show it," he pointed out. "You raked me over the coals after the pot brownie and embarrassed me in front of everyone; you changed my roster so I was working way more than I had been, until I was run into the ground. And I think you wanted to say something after the bus fire, but you didn't. Bobby, I don't know what to do anymore."

Bobby was silent for a few long moments. He finally said, "You're about to be married. You're going to adopt Christopher and have your own kids. I know you've grown up. I know I did the wrong thing by you after the blood clots. I know I was maybe too hard on you after the pot brownie, and I know you work your ass off. Buck, let me tell you what frightens me – that one day your luck is going to run out. That you are going to do something impulsive and you'll die, and you'll leave behind a whole mess of people who love you. That keeps me awake at night."

He swallowed hard, his eyes on the floor.

"And I should've said something to you after the bus fire, but Hen talked me out of it. I was scared for you then and I'm still scared for you now. You're like a son to me." Bobby's voice was thick with emotion.

"I know I can be impulsive," he replied. "I'm working on it. The bus fire… I don't feel good about that, and Eddie and I talked it out. I just… panicked. I can't promise I won't panic again, but I'm trying."

"And your reaction won't change if you go to another station."

"No, but… the reaction of my captain might." Buck gave him a long look. "You keep punishing me, Bobby… everyone makes mistakes. Chim, Hen, Eddie, you… everyone. It's like I get detention that lasts for months. You can't keep doing this to me every single time. I'm not the same person I was four years ago when we first met. I don't go around stealing fire trucks anymore to hook up with girls. I just… I know you know how I feel. I know you know how much I've wanted a family of my own, and how much Eddie and Chris mean to me… I know you get it. I just don't understand why my punishments are so severe."

"Because I want you to be better than me," Bobby admitted, glancing at him guiltily. "I don't want you to end up like me. I was like you, once upon a time – cocky, reckless, indestructible. And then I did my back in on the job, turned to painkillers and booze and… you know the ending to that story, Buck. I don't want that for you."

He nodded, wrapping his arms around himself. "I get it."

"You have so much potential," Bobby continued. "You could rise through the ranks – we all see that for you. I know what it's like to be in your shoes… it's not an excuse, but… I just want so much for you. And I'm so proud of you, Buck. You've grown so much in the last few years."

He was silent for a few moments, his brain spinning. How long had he wanted his _father_ to say something like that to him? That he was proud? That he was doing a good job? That he was on the right track?

Suddenly emotional, he cleared his throat and said gruffly, "Thanks, Cap."

"I really don't want either of you to leave, but if I've made it impossible for you to stay, I understand," Bobby said unhappily. "Your friendship means a lot to me, Buck. If I can't be your captain anymore, I still want to be your friend."

"We never stopped being friends," Buck said, taking a step forward. "I've just been avoiding you because I thought you were mad at me, for the stupid pot brownie. It really was an accident."

"It's just that… we still get requests for you and Eddie to do interviews," Bobby said. "I shield you both from it because I know you're not interested, but you two are pretty high profile. You've noticed people filming and taking your pictures occasionally, I'm sure."

Buck nodded – it was happening less frequently than after they first went viral, but occasionally they'd have someone thrust a cell phone in their face wanting a selfie.

"And the Chief is aware of you, as you know," Bobby continued, adding ice to their drinks. "I was hoping you would be able to put as much distance between yourself and the lawsuit as possible so we could start thinking about your career."

"Have I shot myself in the foot?" he asked reluctantly.

"I think the fact that you didn't take the money that was offered and you've been an exemplary employee, for the most part, has gone a long way to prove to the Chief that you're not a liability," Bobby replied. "Plus, as much as I loathe to admit it, the Taylor Kelly news story made you very popular. They're already talking about you and Eddie being shoo-ins for a joint month in the calendar next year."

Buck shook his head. "Not interested."

"What, you're going to get married and get all fat and happy?" Bobby teased him, and just like that some of the tension was gone, and he began to feel more at ease.

"No, he keeps me in shape," Buck replied, wandering further into the kitchen. "Between the running and the gym sessions and the sex—uh, forget I said that."

Bobby laughed. "Too much information, Buckaroo."

"Sorry." Buck smiled at him. "We're good, right? You know neither of us wants to leave the 118."

"I hope not, but I'll leave the door open for you just in case." Bobby rested his hands on the bench. "If you're still not happy in a couple of months – if you and I can't work together – then I'll do whatever I can to find you two a station that will be a better fit. If it comes to that – if not, don't worry about it."

"Okay," Buck agreed. "We can set Hen and Chim's minds at ease."

Bobby passed him two drinks, rolling his eyes. "I'm starting to feel like Hen wants to run the place."

"She's not scared of you; that's all it is."

~

Dinner at the Grant-Nash residence went off without a hitch, and Buck felt lighter and more hopeful than he had in months. They spent half an hour examining potential suits for the wedding, with Athena offering her strong opinion and finally just deciding for Bobby as to which one he'd wear.

Bobby walked them out to the car at the end of the evening, Christopher asleep on Buck's shoulder. He settled him in the backseat and returned to Eddie's side, draping an arm around his shoulders.

"I still think you should talk to Captain Robinson tomorrow," Bobby said to them. "It may make things clearer. I want you guys to be happy."

"We'll come talk to you after," Eddie replied, glancing at Buck, who nodded. "But Bobby, I don't think we're going to leave. The 118 is our family. We just needed to get everything sorted out between you guys."

"And I think we have," Bobby said, nodding at Buck. "Besides, how the hell would I ever replace you two? You're our best boys."

Buck grinned. "I don't know, you'd find some cocky young upstart and take him under your wing."

Bobby rolled his eyes. "I like the team I have. Please don't fall in love with the 136."

"I can't see that happening. Hen and Chim would kill us," Eddie replied, patting Buck's back. "We better hit the road. Thanks again for dinner."

"I'm glad we were able to talk," Bobby replied, gesturing for them to get into the car. "See you guys in the morning."

As they drove back across town, Eddie said in a low voice, "We're not moving, right?"

"No, I don't think so."

"But we'll still talk to the 136. It doesn't hurt to keep our options open."

Buck nodded. "I can't imagine they'd be able to sway us over to the dark side."

Eddie chuckled, reaching over to flip the radio on. "We're not easily convinced."

"Nope."

"You feel okay with Bobby, though?"

"Yeah, he explained his side of it, and I talked through our side… he said he wants to help me advance, that he thinks it's possible. So… yeah, I feel okay. Time will tell though, I guess?" Buck glanced at him uncertainly.

"I've got your back. Whatever you want to do, we'll do it." Eddie smiled at him, and then yawned widely. "Jesus Christ. Too much wine."

"Well, we better get you home, old man, and put you right to bed."

Christopher let out a giggle from the backseat.

"Oh no, he's awake," Buck gasped, and he giggled again. "I thought you were out like a light."

"I heard you talking," he complained. "Hey Dad, Harry said that my cast is cool, and he wants one."

"It's super cool," Buck agreed.

"I'm sure Athena will be pleased to know that Harry wants to break his arm so he can have a cast too," Eddie said dryly.

"He said it makes me look badass," Christopher boasted, and Eddie choked.

Laughing, Buck said, "Hey bud, that's a bad word, come on. You know that."

Eddie recovered enough to admonish, "Don't ever say that in front of your Abuela, okay? I'll never hear the end of it."

"Okay," Christopher agreed, and when Buck glanced at him in the rear-view mirror, he found a pleased grin on his face.

"Are you winding us up?" Buck accused him, and he let out a cackle. "Did Harry put you up to this? I'll tell Athena!"

"No," Christopher gasped. "No, don't."

"He will," Eddie added, turning around in his seat to glare at his son, who was giggling again. "You had too much sugar."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I had two cupcakes."

"Two? I only saw you have one."

"Harry stole us extra."

Buck shook his head. "I am telling Athena all about this."

"No!"

~~

Christopher thankfully crashed out almost as soon as he was in bed, much to Eddie's relief. He crawled into bed beside Buck, snuggled up against him in his nook, and fell asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, they went to the 136 to meet with Captain Robinson, and Lena Bosko greeted them at the door, walking in with them. They were losing two of their most senior firefighters and were looking to replace them with experienced crew – it all seemed good, from the outside, but Eddie noticed a couple of the guys eyeing them warily and a group clearly talking about them in the corner.

He didn't feel right about it, and sure enough, once they were in the car, Buck said, "Nope."

"Agreed."

"I forgot that Cliff and his cronies were with the 136. I went through training with them. He's a dick. Not interested in working with them at all."

"Was he the tall guy with blonde hair?"

"Yeah, the _Children of the Corn_ -looking dickhead," Buck said bitterly. "Not a chance in hell."

Eddie chuckled at him. "You okay there?"

"He was pissed at me because I graduated top of the class, and he wanted it," Buck replied. "So fucking stupid – who even cares? We all do the same job. I didn't get a better job because of where I placed."

"You would've gotten a bunch of offers though, like I did." Eddie reached out to rest his hand on Buck's thigh. "Look, the decision is made for us – we're staying where we are."

"Yep, and I have a feeling Bobby already knew that." Buck rolled his shoulders, his hands gripping the wheel. "I feel all tensed up after seeing that idiot."

Eddie glanced at him. "I can think of something to ease your tension."

"Oh yeah?" Buck flashed him a grin.

"We still have over an hour before work if you want to quickly come home with me and take a shower."

"Take a shower, you say?"

"Yeah." Eddie slid his hand up a little further. "Take a shower. With me."

"I am feeling pretty dirty."

"Mmm, you look it." Eddie gave him a heated look. "Quick, get us home."

~

They were five minutes late to work, and they changed into their uniforms before climbing the stairs to the balcony. Hen and Chimney were seated at the table, and both stood when they arrived, concerned and expectant looks on their faces.

Eddie was about to open his mouth when Bobby stepped out of his office, equally worried, his hands folded across his chest.

"We're not going anywhere," Buck announced, holding his hands up. "Everyone, chill."

"Are you sure?" Chimney demanded.

"One hundred percent, Chim. We knew instantly," Buck replied, striding over to make a coffee. "So everyone can calm down – Bobby and I are good, he's still my best man, _Chim,_ and everything is going back to normal."

"Good," Hen said with satisfaction, taking a seat at the table. "That's what I like to hear."

"Wasn't the right fit, huh?" Bobby asked Eddie, who shook his head.

"Nah, we know where our home is," he replied, following Buck to the coffee machine. "You guys want to hear about the wedding plans?"

They sat down and filled them in on the arrangements so far. Everyone seemed excited about the venue and the food trucks, and when Chimney started in on Buck for dictating the music, Eddie left the table, rolling his eyes. He was rinsing his cup out at the sink when Hen joined him, patting his back. "I knew it would work out," she said confidentially.

"Yeah, because you and Chim went around and strong-armed Bobby," he murmured. "I know what you did."

"We are not willing to lose either of our best boys," she said meaningfully. "It's non-negotiable."

"Right," he said, grinning at her. "That doesn't work on me, but if you say it to Buck, he'll love you for it."

"Oh, I know, which is why I'm saying it to you. Sometimes you need a pat on the back as well," she said, smiling at him.

He was about to respond when the alarms went off, and the words died on his lips as they headed down the stairs to grab their gear.

~

Their call-out was to a sorority house at UCLA, where smoke was pouring from the back of the house into the sky. Eddie jumped out of the truck, following Bobby over to where a group of frightened girls were huddled together. They were given a quick, tearful rundown – someone had left been cooking on the stove with a lot of oil and a fire ignited, and instead of smothering it with a towel, they tried to put it out with water.

"But we used the fire extinguisher!" one of the girls cried, anguished.

"Is everyone accounted for?" Bobby asked, trying to figure out who was in charge.

A blonde stepped forward meekly and said, "Our house mother is out buying groceries. We don't know who was at home or not."

Bobby turned to Eddie, Buck at his side, and said, "Guys, put some oxygen on and do a sweep upstairs; we'll take downstairs."

"Got it." They quickly suited up, and Eddie followed Buck into the house and up the stairs. At the top, Buck pointed to the right and Eddie jerked his thumb to the left, and they parted with a quick fist bump.

The smoke wasn't too bad, and he was able to clear the rooms quickly. It was when he reached the last room at the end that he heard someone crying, and tried to open the door, but found that it was locked. "Miss? Can you open your door? I'm LAFD, I'm here to get you out."

"And then he dumped me!" he heard the girl wail. "I can't even believe it, Cynthia! He said he loved me, but he didn't see a future for us. I feel like Reese Witherspoon in _Legally Blonde,_ but like, way dumber!" She was on the phone. Eddie pounded on the door, trying to get her attention, but all he heard was, "I know, and I even went _down on him_ , like, you know that's my least favourite thing to do. You know my jaw hurts! And the pubes, Cyn! The pubes!"

Eddie snorted with laughter, pounded on the door again, received no answer and finally jimmied it open with his multi-tool. She had her back to him, headphones in her ears, completely oblivious until he stepped right up beside her and yelled, "Miss, there's a fire!"

At that she screamed, throwing the phone at him, tumbling off the bed and onto the floor, her arms and legs akimbo. Eddie held his hands up, trying to smile reassuringly at her, and said, "There's a fire, miss."

"A fire!" she screeched at him, scrambling across the floor. "What fire?!"

He gestured to the smoke filling her room, and then pointed at the window. "Take a look."

"Are you a rapist?" she demanded, rising to her knees, and peering warily out of the window. "Oh my god! The kitchen's on fire! You're not a rapist, right?"

"No ma'am, I'm a firefighter," he said, holding his hand out to her. "Put some shoes on and let's go."

She jammed her feet into a pair of sneakers, grabbed her phone and purse, and followed him out of the room. "I'm Serena," she said as she followed him down the hall. "What's your name?"

Eddie grinned, coming across Buck at the top of the stairs. "All clear?"

Buck nodded. "Was just waiting for you. They've nearly put the fire out."

"Okay. Serena, you go first. We're right behind you."

Serena was eyeing Buck with wide eyes. "What's your deal?" she asked him, even as Eddie prodded her down the stairs. "You guys are so hot."

"Eddie's hot," Buck replied easily. "I'm engaged though."

"Eddie! That's your name?" she asked him, pausing on the landing, turning to face him with a smile. "That's so cute. You're so cute."

"I'm engaged too," Eddie said quickly, elbowing Buck in the ribs. "To this idiot here. Let's go."

"You two are engaged to _each other_?!" she practically squealed.

What followed was Serena bursting out of the house and into the arms of her friends, and as Eddie and Buck removed their helmets and visors, she shouted, "Those two are engaged to each other and they're so hot you guys, oh my god."

"You guys are _engaged?!_ " one of the other girls shrieked, and suddenly they were surrounded with a group of women, all vying for their attention.

"When's the wedding?"

"What's the venue?

"Are you wearing a ring?"

"Hey, are you the hot firefighters from that viral video?"

"Oh my god Amber, they are! Oh my god! You guys are so cute!"

"Ladies, ladies," Buck announced, holding his hands up. "We are flattered, but we have to do our jobs—"

"Is that a birthmark or did someone punch you in the face?"

"Oh my god you are so hot, both of you are so hot! Can we get selfies?"

At that Eddie broke away from the pack, his tail between his legs, sacrificing Buck to a throng of women as he jogged over to where Bobby, Chimney and Hen were all laughing.

"Shut up," he grumbled, shrugging out of his turnout coat. "He'll handle it."

"As long as he doesn't go viral again," Bobby said good-naturedly.

Eddie glanced over his shoulder and found Buck happily posing for selfies with the women. "Jesus Christ," he muttered, shaking his head.

He was yanking his gloves off when there was a timid, "Excuse me?" from behind, and he turned around to find one of the girls standing there, her phone in her hands, a nervous smile on her face. She wore glasses, and her curly brown hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. Thinking she was going to ask for a selfie, he was all prepared to shut her down politely, but she surprised him by saying, "Um, I know that the video was like, illegal or whatever, but… your son has CP, right?"

"Uh, yeah," he replied, relaxing a bit. "Yeah, he does."

"My brother has CP too," she said. "He just got a job with NASA. He's really excited about it. Do you want to see a picture?"

He grinned. "Yeah, that'd be awesome. What's his name?"

"Ambrose. My name is Birdie; our parents love golf," she said, and rolled her eyes. "Here he is when he found out that he got the job."

She showed him a picture of a man with glasses and crutches similar to Christopher's, a huge smile on his face, surrounded by family. "What's he going to be doing at NASA?"

"Helping build the Mars rovers and things, I think?" she replied, and shrugged. "I don't know. He's super smart; way smarter than me."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"Yeah, it is. But I really liked the video," she said, tucking her phone in her pocket. "My mom liked it too. Your son reminds me of my brother; he's the happiest guy I know."

"That's my Christopher," Eddie replied warmly. "Nice to meet you, Birdie. I'm Eddie."

"And your husband is Buck," she said, glancing over to where Buck was _still_ taking selfies.

"Soon," he said. "In a few months."

"That's awesome." Birdie glanced around, as if to ensure no one was looking, and pulled a small rainbow flag pin out of her pocket. She held it out to him, and he took it, rolling it in his fingers.

"What's this?"

"I haven't come out yet," she said, her eyes suddenly shiny. "I don't know how. How did you do it?"

He exhaled, and said, "I was outed. On TV."

A look of horror crossed her face. "The video."

"Yeah, but it's okay that you like it," he reassured her. "Everyone likes it, but yeah… I didn't really have a chance to come out on my own terms. My advice is not to go viral."

She nodded. "Okay, I won't."

"Good plan." He looked down at the pin again, turning it over in his hand, and then passed it back. "And don't worry. Everything will be okay."

"You really think so?"

He looked over at Buck, who happened to glance his way at the same time, a huge smile on his face. "Yeah, definitely."

~~

When Buck found out they had two nights off over a weekend, he did two things immediately – the first was to text Aunt Pepa to see if she could babysit Christopher for one of the nights, and the second thing was to snatch Eddie's iPad, ensconce himself in the bedroom with it, and book a hotel.

He then went to a certain kind of website, added some exciting things to his shopping cart, and placed an order for expedited, next day shipping. He was going to blow Eddie's mind.

He cleared the browser history, made sure the confirmation emails were hidden in his email account and then went out to the kitchen to start dinner. He was listening to a podcast about Jack the Ripper when the front door opened, and Eddie called, "X-rays are clear; everything is healing well, cast will be off in a week."

"Awesome!" Buck said, meeting them in the dining room. Christopher beamed up at him and giggled when Buck ruffled his hair. "Enchiladas for dinner?"

"Yum," Christopher said, licking his lips. "Chicken?"

"You bet."

"Go wash up, bud, and dinner will be ready by the time you're done. You want to watch a movie tonight?"

Christopher shook his head. "Can we play a game instead?"

"Yeah, we'll play some board games," Buck agreed easily. "I'll get them out of the cupboard. Good idea."

"I'm going to beat you!" Christopher sang as he made his way down the hall.

Buck gave Eddie a rueful look. "He probably will."

"Yeah, you let him win," Eddie teased, leaning in for a kiss. "Hi."

"Hey."

"There was a letter for you in the box." Eddie handed him the envelope, and then snaked a hand around to give his butt a squeeze.

Buck glanced at it, and then draped his arms over Eddie's shoulders, gazing down at him seriously. "What are you doing next Saturday night?"

"Probably working with you. Why?"

"You're not. You're coming with me to a hotel overlooking the _ocean_ ," Buck said in a low voice, as Eddie's eyes lit up, "and Chris will be staying with Pepa for the night."

Eddie let out a breath. "Really?"

"Really, really."

"I can't wait."

"Me either." Buck raised his eyebrows meaningfully. "I'm going to let you do whatever you want to me, Mr Diaz. Whatever you want."

Eddie nodded. "And vice versa."

"No, this is your present. Consider it an early birthday present, babe. I'll make sure I'm ready for you to do whatever you want."

"So trusting."

"Yep." Buck leaned in to brush a kiss to his lips, and murmured, "And I might have a trick or two up my sleeve."

"Oh, I bet." Eddie was grinning, both hands on Buck's hips. "I can't wait. I can't fucking wait."

"I know. You can have a little preview tonight." Buck kissed him again and then broke away, sniffing the air. "Shit. My enchiladas!" He tossed the envelope at Eddie as he hurried back into the kitchen, ignoring the snickering from behind him. "Hey, this is your dinner too."

"Yeah, yeah." Eddie joined him in the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe, examining the envelope. "Hey, this is from Philadelphia."

"It is?"

"Could be about your trust?"

"I don't know; is there an address?"

"Wyndmoor."

Buck went stiff, quickly shook it off and removed the enchiladas from the oven. "That's where my parents live. Open it up, Eds."

"You sure you don't want to…"

"No, you can do it." Buck gave him an unhappy look. "Some guilt-tripping bullshit, I'm sure."

Eddie ripped open the envelope and withdrew a folded sheet of paper. He opened it, raising his eyebrows, and began to read. "Dear Evan and Eddie, we hope this letter finds you well. We realise we made some terrible mistakes and are writing to seek your forgiveness - however we understand if you are not forthcoming. Evan, as we enter our old age we have taken the time to look back upon the mistakes of our youth and realise that this offering is probably too little, too late, but we would like to try to be a part of your life as you build your family with your husband. Please accept the enclosed cheque as an apology for our actions, and to put towards your wedding or honeymoon, or towards having a child of your own. We are waiting to hear from you, should you wish to reach out. Congratulations on your engagement and please give our best wishes to Eddie, Christopher and Eddie's parents. Best wishes, Roger and Patricia Buckley." Eddie finished, and held up a cheque. "And the cheque is for twenty-five thousand dollars."

"Half of last time, then." Buck had a hand on his hips, his eyes on the ground. "Huh. Sounds like bullshit, right?"

"I don't know, babe.You know them better than I do." Eddie examined the cheque in the light. "What do you want to do with this?"

"Why are they always offering me money, Eds? Do I look poor or something?"

"Well, your shirt is ripped under the arms and the hem is also coming off," he pointed out.

Buck looked down at his beloved Nirvana t-shirt and said, "This is my favourite shirt, take that back."

"Just stating the obvious, my love," Eddie said with a grin. He tucked the cheque and letter back into the envelope and added it to their collection of bills to be paid. "Talk to your sister. We could always donate it."

"That's a good idea." Buck turned back to the food. "Dinner's nearly ready."

"Okay. I'll just get changed." Eddie pressed a kiss to the back of his neck and started down the hall.

Buck began to dish the food out, lost in thought. He really didn't believe them, at all. It felt false to him. There was some agenda, and he wasn't sure what it was, but he wasn't interested.

They'd donate the money to the LAFD Fire Department Foundation, or maybe split it in half and donate some to a children's charity as well. He wasn't going to take it for himself.

~~

"There's a package!" Christopher shouted from the backseat as Eddie pulled into the driveway. "Dad!"

"I see it, bud," he said with a laugh. "You nearly deafened me."

"Sorry." Christopher had a big smile on his face. "What did you order?"

"I didn't order anything. I guess Buck did." Eddie turned the car off and slipped out of the driver's seat. He helped Christopher out as well, locked the car, and followed him to the house. "I'll get it, buddy. We'll wait until Buck comes home before we open it."

"Okay," Christopher agreed cheerfully. "I hope it's Lego."

"It could be, I don't know." Eddie picked up the box, tucked it under his arm and let them inside. Christopher headed off to his room, and he carried the box over to the table and examined it. The address gave nothing away – the shop was an acronym he didn't recognise. It was addressed to Buck, so he left it alone, though his curiosity was piqued.

Buck arrived home an hour later, their dinner in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other. He passed the bottle to Eddie, who said, "What's this?"

"Chim gave it to me; he said it's an engagement present," Buck replied, dumping two paper bags of Chinese food on the kitchen bench before returning to give Eddie a hug and kiss. "Hello."

"Hey yourself." Eddie kissed him again, and then gestured to the package on the table. "That arrived for you today. What'd you buy?"

Buck gave him a devilish grin, and his heart sank.

"Buck. What did you buy?"

"It's a surprise for you, my love," he said gleefully, and snatched the box from the table. "I'm going to the bedroom – do not come in and don't let Christopher in either. Not for children's eyes."

"Oh man, he's going to want to know what's in there."

"Tell him I ordered some cleaning stuff – he'll believe that." Buck took off down the hallway, and a moment later the bedroom door closed.

Uneasy, Eddie searched for his iPad, and finally found it shoved under a newspaper. He sat down at the table and immediately went into the search history, which was suspiciously wiped clean. Drawing a blank, he set the tablet aside and went down to the bedroom, letting himself into the room.

Buck shoved the box behind himself and hissed, "Do you mind?"

"I want to know what it is," he said. "You know I… I'm rusty."

"Rusty? Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Whatever is in there, it's… for us, right?"

Buck gazed at him and said, "Babe, don't you trust me? I bought this for you to use on me, not for me to use on you. I wouldn't do that without talking to you first."

He nodded, and then said, "I still want to know what it is."

"It's not just one thing." Buck eyed him, and then sighed. "Okay. I'll show you the main thing, but everything else is a surprise. Deal?"

"Deal."

Buck reached into the box, pulled out an item in hard plastic, and tossed it to Eddie.

It was a butt plug.

Eddie instantly felt hot. "What's this for?"

"I'm going to wear it for you, all weekend, if you want. If we go out to dinner, or… go for a walk on the beach… I'll be wearing that, for you."

"Holy shit."

"You like it?"

His mouth was dry. "Yes."

"Good." Buck held his hand out, and Eddie tossed it back to him. He added it to the box and closed the lid, flashing Eddie a smile. "When we drive there, I'll be wearing that for you. Keep that in mind."

"Uh huh, yep. Fuck. I need to calm down." He was hot, sweating, leaning against the closed door, his erection straining against his jeans. "I can't wait to get you in that room."

"Yeah, you can fuck me as hard you want, and I'll be as loud as you want me to be," Buck said in a low voice that went straight to his dick. "I could be your willing sex slave for twenty-four whole hours."

"Oh Jesus Christ, _Buck._ Stop." He squeezed his eyes shut. "Stop. He'll be knocking on the door in a minute wanting dinner."

"I can be quick." Buck slid off the bed, crawled over to him on his hands and knees, and unzipped Eddie's jeans. "You want some stress relief, babe?"

He fumbled to make sure the door was locked as Buck freed his cock and wrapped his lips around it, gazing up at Eddie with hooded eyes. Eddie twisted his fingers in Buck's hair and threw his head back against the door, picturing Buck on all fours for him, wearing that plug, and how easy it would be to slide in and fill him up… they were both quiet at home but he remembered how loud Buck could be when things were just right; he remembered vividly the noises he'd made in the loft, how his moans had bounced off the walls… how they'd fucked for hours; how Buck was up for anything, any position, and sometimes things went wrong but it was okay because they'd laugh it off, and… fuck, he couldn't wait to be with him again, like that, uninhibited, alone, just the two of them and—

The suction on his cock increased, Buck squeezed his ass with both hands, and Eddie came with a shudder, panting heavily. Buck swallowed it down, every drop, and lapped at him until he was soft again. "I got you," he said, licking his lips, tucking Eddie back in his pants. "Feel better?"

"You're gonna kill me."

"Not with your stamina." Buck rose to his feet, pushed him against the door, and kissed him wetly. Eddie tasted himself on Buck's tongue and moaned.

~

Ten days later, they arrived at their hotel in Malibu, and Eddie couldn't help but murmur, "Buck, how much did you spend?"

"Enough. I wanted to book something special. This is a treat." Buck shifted in his seat pointedly.

It was already in. Eddie had dropped Christopher off at Pepa's, and then come home to watch Buck insert _it_ and get dressed, a wicked grin on his face. He was having trouble containing himself, his legs squeezed together tightly.

"Get it together," Buck said, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. "This is a classy place. We're booked into the restaurant tonight."

"No room service?"

"We can still get room service _after._ "

They went inside to check in and were shown to their room by the bellboy. Buck handed him a tip, put the do not disturb sign on the door and locked it securely. Eddie wandered around their huge room, out-of-place in such a fancy hotel. "How did you pay for this?"

"Not on a credit card. Don't worry about it."

"You used that money from your parents?"

"No, I donated that." Buck watched him, leaning against the wall, his arms folded across his chest. Eddie went into the bathroom and examined the tub and rainfall shower, before returning to the main room. They had a sprawling view of the bright blue ocean.

"We'll get to see the sun rise," he said to Buck, who smiled at him.

"We can get up early to watch it."

He nodded, and then couldn't help but say in a rush, "God, I'm nervous, you know? It's fucking stupid. We had sex yesterday and I'm wondering how I'm going to make this special."

"What do you want me to do?" Buck asked him. "You tell me what to do. This is your present."

He hesitated only briefly, and then said, "I want you to take your clothes off."

"Okay." Buck pulled his shirt over his head. He kicked off his shoes and undid his belt, slowly, drawing it out through the loops, and tossed it aside. His pants followed, and then his underwear and socks. He was already hard, his cock curved upwards.

"Turn around," Eddie heard himself say, and Buck complied. The plug was wedged snugly between his cheeks. "Jesus, Buck. It doesn't hurt, does it?"

"No, it feels good, but I know what would feel better."

He was palming himself through his jeans. "Put your hands on the table and bend over."

Buck's breathing quickened, but he did as he was told.

"Spread your legs, wide."

He complied, the muscles in his back rippling. Eddie stepped up behind him, unzipping his fly. He slid his hand down Buck's back, feeling those muscles twitch beneath his fingers, and said, "My present, right?"

"Anything you want."

"I'm going to take it out and fuck you," Eddie said in his ear, and Buck shivered. "And when I'm done, I'm putting it back in again so you're ready for the next round."

"Oh fuck."

He couldn't help but add, "Tell me you want me."

"I want you; I want your cock," Buck moaned. "Fuck me, Eds. Please."

He stripped out of his clothes as well, ran his palms over the firm muscles of Buck's back, and pressed a kiss between his shoulder blades, reaching down with one hand to twist the plug. Buck gasped, his breath quickening, and he shuddered all over when Eddie carefully removed the plug and set it aside. He was loose and open, already lubricated, and Eddie thrust inside easily. Buck's head dropped forward, his legs spread wide, torso bent over the table. Eddie grabbed his hip with his left hand and his shoulder with his right, adjusted himself, and began to fuck him briskly.

"Oh god," Buck moaned. "Oh my god."

"You like that?" Eddie kept a steady pace, closing his eyes. He felt Buck tighten and release around him; could feel his legs shaking as he struggled to stay upright, but he maintained his relentless pace until all Buck could do was moan, sweat rolling down his spine. Eddie paused long enough to bend over and lick a stripe up his back, changed his angle, and resumed.

Buck's hand went between his legs and he whined when Eddie pushed it away, forcing it back onto the table. "Please, please—"

"No." As punishment, he pressed in close against him, grabbed his pierced nipple, and twisted it.

Buck gasped, throwing his head back, shaking as Eddie flicked his nipple a few times, and then finally pinched it between his thumb and forefinger and resumed thrusting.

"Oh god, oh god," Buck whimpered. "Holy shit."

It had been a long, long time since they'd had hard, rough sex. Eddie pressed his face against Buck's back, found a spot and sank his teeth in, listening as Buck moaned again. He sucked a bruise, moved his head to the side and sucked a matching one, close to the edge, trying to control himself.

Buck was shaking, his entire body quivering. All it would take was for Eddie to reach around and stroke him in time with his thrusts, but he had a better idea, and bent Buck over the table fully.

"Oh my _god_ ," he heard Buck whimper, but he was single-minded in his focus, holding him by the hips, pounding into him until he came with a shout, filling him up. Buck wriggled beneath him, trying to get himself off, but he paused when Eddie withdrew, slowly.

"Turn around," Eddie said, and Buck complied, visibly trembling. His cock was straining, oozing pre-cum. Eddie dropped to his knees, wrapped his lips around that perfect dick of his and sucked until Buck came into his mouth, slumping back against the table.

Eddie swallowed every drop, pressed kisses to his stomach and chest as he straightened up, and then slid his hand around the back of Buck's neck to tug him in for a kiss.

~~

The afternoon was spent in a haze of sex. They really did have a reservation for dinner, so Buck had to keep an eye on the clock, but after their first, intense session they cooled off into slower, more intimate lovemaking. As the sun began to set Buck was on his side, Eddie behind him, stroking himself while Eddie slowly made love to him.

Dinner was five courses, all delicious. They went for a walk down to the beach, and once away from the lights of the hotel and into the darkness he said to Eddie, "You ever had sex on the beach before?"

Eddie glanced up at him sharply. "No. Have you?"

"Yeah, I got sand _everywhere_ ," he said meaningfully, and Eddie laughed. "So I'm not suggesting we do that tonight."

"Good. I'm not into public sex." Eddie's arm was around his waist, his head on his shoulder.

The full moon began to rise, looming large in the sky, and they sat down on the sand to watch it ascend – almost golden in colour, illuminating the ripples on the water. Eddie, seated between Buck's legs, said, "I used to watch the moon rise when I was a kid in Texas, on nights like this. I'd track the full moon and then sit out in the backyard and watch it. The light pollution wasn't as bad; you could see more stars."

"I'd watch it from my window," Buck said, running his hands up and down Eddie's arms. "It always made me feel small."

"Why?"

"Don't know. Still does, I guess. We're just… specks, Eds. You and me, everything we love and care about and believe in, all the things going on in our lives, our wedding… to the universe, that's miniscule. Tinier than miniscule. None of it matters. We're just… on a rock, floating in space, and we just accept it."

"What else is there? We haven't figured the rest out yet."

"And we never will." Buck rested his chin on Eddie's shoulder. "Space makes me feel tiny. I mean, the sun could throw a solar flare and we'd be dead and not see it coming. There could be a comet or an asteroid heading towards us right now, and there's nothing we can do."

"Well," Eddie said quietly, "at least we'd go together."

"But I want my whole life with you."

He chuckled. "You're going to get it – the chances of a solar flare or a comet or asteroid are pretty slim, right? So you're going to get your life with me."

"Good." Buck nuzzled his cheek.

"What if I bore you, though? And in ten years some hotshot walks into the station and you want to be with him?"

"Right back at you, bud."

"Nah, I'm like a penguin. I mate for life."

Buck's grip tightened on him. "As if there is any possible way that someone could ever take me away from you," he said in a low voice. "You're everything to me. There will never be anyone else. I don't even see other people anymore; I just see you. I'm the luckiest man in the world."

"We're both lucky, my love." Eddie tilted his head back, and Buck pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "Come on. Let's order room service."

"We just finished a five-course meal, literally an hour ago—"

"Yeah, well, this is my little treat, so I want room service." Eddie kissed him again. "Let's go."

~

They sat on the bed to eat their room service dessert – Eddie ordered crème brulee for himself, and Buck had fun watching him try it for the first time, cracking his spoon through the sugary crust like he was on Masterchef. Buck had a piece of decadent chocolate cake, though after a five-course meal, it was almost too much.

He set his plate aside and lay on the bed, rubbing his stomach. Eddie smiled at him affectionately and said, "Full?"

"No more food."

"Okay." Eddie cleared their plates and pulled his clothes off, sliding into bed beside Buck. "Hey – you never told me what else was in the box."

"I'm too full and too tired," he complained.

"I know, but I want to see what else you bought. Is it in your bag?" Eddie hopped off the bed, still full of energy.

"Yeah, in the bottom in another bag."

"Hmm." Eddie rummaged around, found what he was looking for, and returned to the bed, crawling over to Buck and perching on his knees beside him. "What have we here?"

Buck smiled lazily at him. "Things for when we're alone."

"Ah." Eddie pulled out a pair of leather handcuffs first, waving them at Buck with a raised eyebrow. "Going to let me tie you up?"

"Yes, please."

Eddie grinned. "Looking forward to that. What else? Edible body chocolate? Buck."

"Yeah, maybe for when we're at home."

"Very clichéd." Eddie pulled out another box, turning it over in his hands, and murmured, "What's this?"

"That's for you. Well, we can share it, but I bought it for you."

Eddie narrowed his eyes at him, and then opened the box. "It's a vibrator."

"For your prostate," Buck corrected.

"For me."

"Yeah, well, I know you like it and sometimes you don't know how to ask for it."

"I know how to ask for it." Eddie pulled the toy of its packaging, examining it closely. "You want to fuck me with this?"

"Babe, I thought… if you wanted, you could wear it while you're on top," Buck suggested. "And I could control the vibration."

Eddie let out a breath, nodding slowly. "Okay."

"You like?"

"Yep." He eyed Buck, and then said, "You should've showed me this earlier."

"Yeah, well, you were too turned on by the plug. Speaking of, babe, can I—"

"I think we're both too full to do anything but sleep," Eddie said, flopping down onto the pillow. "You want to have a bath with me?"

Buck grinned at him. "Definitely."

~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me @ Tumblr: [woodchoc-magnum](https://woodchoc-magnum.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [The Beatles - And I Love Her](https://youtu.be/9_c2XZd9mMo)
> 
> Usually I try to steer clear of gendered songs but this one is so pretty.


End file.
